Enjoyed or bored?:A study into achievement emotions and the association with barriers to learning in MOOCs

MOOCs are accessible online personal development opportunities in which learners can expand their knowledge on many topics. Yet, the experience of barriers to learning often hinders learners from achieving their personal learning goals. Therefore, it is important to have insight into determinants that may influence the experience of (certain) barriers. This study investigated whether the emotional determinants enjoyment and boredom, which are known to impact learner achievement and motivation, affect the experience of (specific) barriers while learning in MOOCs. The results show that boredom did affect the experience of barriers related to technical and online related skills, social context and time, support and motivation, yet it did not affect the experience of barriers related to the design of the MOOC. Enjoyment was not correlated to any of the barriers. Furthermore, the same analysis comparing men to women again revealed that boredom did not significantly affect the experience of barriers related to the design of the MOOC, yet did significantly affect the experience of the other barriers. No, significant differences were found between males and females. These findings may serve as input for supporting learners in achieving their individual learning goals

New faculty members' emotions : a mixed-method study†.

The current study developed when new faculty members spontaneously reported discrete emotions during focus groups exploring the factors affecting their success. Qualitative analysis using the framework of Pekrun's control–value theory of emotions revealed 18 different emotions with varying frequencies. A follow-up survey of 79 new faculty members showed significantly more enjoyment, pride, and boredom regarding teaching, whereas more anxiety, guilt, and helplessness were found concerning research. Sixteen of the 20 emotions significantly correlated with perceived success. Regressions revealed that several emotions (enjoyment, pride, and boredom) played a role in teaching success by mediating value; conversely, numerous emotions (enjoyment, pride, shame, and helplessness) mediated the predictive effect of control on research success. Implications for new faculty development and emotion research are discussed

Achievement Emotions and Academic Achievement: Reciprocal Relations and the Moderating Influence of Academic Buoyancy

Control-value theory proposes that achievement emotions impact achievement, and that achievement outcomes (i.e., success and failure) reciprocally influence the development of achievement emotions. Academic buoyancy is an adaptive response to minor academic adversity, and might, therefore, offer protection from achievement being undermined by negative achievement emotions. At present, however, there is little empirical evidence for these hypothesized relations. In this study we examined reciprocal relations between three achievement emotions (enjoyment, boredom, and anxiety) and test performance in the context of mathematics, and whether academic buoyancy moderated relations between these emotions and test performance. Data were collected from 1,242 primary school students (mean age = 9.3 years) over four waves within one school year. Achievement emotions (T1 and T3) and test performance (T2 and T4) were measured alternately. Academic buoyancy was measured at T3. A structural equation model showed negative relations of anxiety to subsequent test performance, and negative relations of test performance to subsequent anxiety. Test performance also predicted enjoyment and boredom, but not vice versa. A latent-interaction structural equation model showed buoyancy moderated relations between anxiety and test performance. Test performance was highest when anxiety was low and buoyancy high. Practitioners should consider using interventions to reduce anxiety and downstream effects on achievement

Affective state influences retrieval-induced forgetting for integrated knowledge

Selectively testing parts of learned materials can impair later memory for nontested materials. Research has shown that such retrieval-induced forgetting occurs for low-integrated materials but may be prevented for high-integrated materials. However, previous research has neglected one factor that is ubiquitous in real-life testing: affective stat

The murky distinction between self-concept and self-efficacy: beware of lurking jingle-jangle fallacies

This study extends the classic constructive dialogue/debate between self-concept and self-efficacy researchers (Marsh, Roche, Pajares & Miller, 1997) regarding the distinctions between these two constructs. The study is a substantive-methodological synergy, bringing together new substantive, theoretical and statistical models, and developing new tests of the classic jingle-jangle fallacy. We demonstrate that in a representative sample of 3,350 students from math classes in 43 German schools, generalized math self-efficacy and math outcome expectancies were indistinguishable from math self-concept, but were distinct from test-related and functional measures of self-efficacy. This is consistent with the jingle-jangle fallacies that are proposed. On the basis of pre-test-variables, we demonstrate negative frame-of-reference effects in social (big-fish-little-pond effect) and dimensional (internal/external frame-of-reference effect) comparisons for three self-concept-like constructs in each of the first four years of secondary school. In contrast, none of the frame-of-reference effects were significantly negative for either of the two self-efficacy-like constructs in any of the four years of testing. After controlling for pre-test variables, each of the three self-concept-like constructs (math self-concept, outcome expectancy, and generalized math self-efficacy) in each of the four years of secondary school was more strongly related to post-test outcomes (school grades, test scores, future aspirations) than were the corresponding two self-efficacy-like factors. Extending discussion by Marsh et al. (1997) we clarify distinctions between self-efficacy and self-concept; the role of evaluation, worthiness, and outcome expectancy in self-efficacy measures; and complications in generalized and global measures of self-efficacy

Reciprocal relations between students' academic enjoyment, boredom, and achievement over time

The control-value theory (CVT) proposes that achievement emotions and academic achievement show reciprocal effects over time. Previous studies have examined how achievement emotions predict subsequent achievement. However, evidence is limited for whether achievement can also predict achievement emotions. To examine these reciprocal relations, data were collected about two achievement emotions: enjoyment and boredom, and mathematics achievement over four waves in a single school year in primary school students in Years 5 and 6. Results from structural equation modeling supported reciprocal relations between emotions and achievement. Higher enjoyment and lower boredom predicted greater subsequent achievement and, in turn, greater academic achievement predicted subsequent greater enjoyment and lower boredom. Furthermore, the relations between emotions over time were mediated by achievement. These findings build on the evidence base for CVT and further understanding of relations between achievement emotions and academic achievement in younger students. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

Designing Engaging Learning Experiences in Programming

In this paper we describe work to investigate the creation of engaging programming learning experiences. Background research informed the design of four fieldwork studies to explore how programming tasks could be framed to motivate learners. Our empirical findings from these four field studies are summarized here, with a particular focus upon one – Whack a Mole – which compared the use of a physical interface with the use of a screen-based equivalent interface to obtain insights into what made for an engaging learning experience. Emotions reported by two sets of participant undergraduate students were analyzed, identifying the links between the emotions experienced during programming and their origin. Evidence was collected of the very positive emotions experienced by learners programming with a physical interface (Arduino) in comparison with a similar program developed using a screen-based equivalent interface. A follow-up study provided further evidence of the motivation of personalized design of programming tangible physical artefacts. Collating all the evidence led to the design of a set of ‘Learning Dimensions’ which may provide educators with insights to support key design decisions for the creation of engaging programming learning experiences

Affect in mathematics education

There are two different uses for the word “affect” in behavioral sciences. Often it is used as an overarching umbrella concept that covers attitudes, beliefs, motivation, emotions, and all other noncognitive aspects of human mind. In this article, however, the word affect is used in a more narrow sense, referring to emotional states and traits. A more technical definition of emotions, states, and traits will follow later.Peer reviewe

Interaction analysis in online maths human tutoring: The case of third space learning

This 'industry' paper reports on the combined effort of researchers and industrial designers and developers to ground the automatic quality assurance of online maths human-to-human tutoring on best practices. We focus on the first step towards this goal. Our aim is to understand the largely under-researched field of online tutoring, to identify success factors in this context and to model best practice in online teaching. We report our research into best practice in online maths teaching and describe and discuss our design and evaluation iterations towards annotation software that can mark up human-to-human online teaching interactions with successful teaching interaction signifiers

Emotion and performance

The study of emotions in organizational settings has attained considerable prominence in recent years, but I critical issue remains unresolved. This is the relationship between emotion and performance. in this special issue, 5 articles address this topic from a variety of viewpoints. Two are theoretical essays that deal, respectively, with emotion and creativity and the relationships between individual and team performance. Three are empirical studies that canvass the emotion-performance nexus across levels of analysis: within person, between persons, and in groups. Between them, the 5 articles present a strong case for the nexus of emotions and performance, but, more important, they provide a platform for potentially fruitful future research in this burgeoning area